Thursday, October 28, 2010

Chinese Crabs Rapidly Invading U.K., Scientists Warn

The crustacean has been known to migrate more than 900 miles (1,450 kilometers) upriver in China, and it can weaken dikes and riverbanks with its networks of muddy burrows.

Marine biologist Matt Bentley, lead author of the study, compares the crab's threat to that of another invader, the gray squirrel from North America. The squirrel is blamed for pushing Britain's indigenous red squirrel from much of its former range.